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The phishing out of a loan or loan for someone else’s name is a threat that many people are afraid of. The risk of becoming a victim of such a crime increases primarily as a result of losing your identity card or improper protection of your personal data in the Internet space. If you are unsure about the security of your data or lost the proof, learn simple ways to check if someone has taken a loan in your name.

Check your BIK

BIK, or Credit Information Bureau, is an institution that receives information on almost every loan or loan taken out in Poland. All banks cooperate with BIK, as well as an increasing number of loan companies. That’s why if you want to check if someone has taken out a loan in your name, you should use BIK services first. How to do it?

You must create an account on the BIK website – a detailed instruction can be found in our guide: How to check if I am in BIK? After creating an account, you will be able to order a BIK report, where you will find information on loans and credits taken out in your name. On this basis, you will know if any of them have been contracted without your knowledge.

Since 2016, there is a so-called Central Information on Bank Accounts. From the official website of this institution you can download a request for information on the bills established in your name. You can submit such an application at your bank after paying an appropriate fee (its amount is determined individually by each bank).

In response, you will receive a summary of the bank accounts set up for your personal data – this information may be very useful in checking if someone has not enlisted or intends to take out a loan in your name. Why?

It happens that criminals create a bank account for other people’s data in order to obtain a loan online. A bank account is necessary for them because, when granting a quick online loan, a bank account is used to verify the borrower’s data, as well as to transfer funds in respect of a given obligation.

Someone took credit for my name – what to do?

If you detect that someone has borrowed a loan or loan for your data, you must start working very quickly. Above all, the case should be reported to the police and the prosecutor’s office in the form of a notification of a crime.

During the investigation, however, it may happen that a bank or loan institution will start repaying you with debt – after all, criminals take out loans for other people’s data not to repay them, but only to extort money. If you receive a request for payment, you must immediately contact the bank or financial institution and present the situation, preferably immediately with documents confirming that you have already reported the matter to the law enforcement authorities. In the case of a paper agreement, you can easily prove that your signature does not appear under it. In the case of an online loan, you can present your account history, from which it will appear that the money from the loan has never hit that account.

Unfortunately, the prosecution may take a long time to resolve the matter and you have to deal with many unpleasant situations up to the end of the proceedings, even with the court proceedings brought by the creditor. However, be positive and cooperate with law enforcement agencies to clarify the matter as soon as possible.

How to protect yourself from extorting your loan?

Instead of worrying about someone taking credit for my proof, it is better to prevent such situations:

look after your identity card – never leave it in the equipment rental or make it available for photocopying at service points (not applicable to banks and offices),

react immediately if you lose your ID – immediately reserve it in your bank and report it to the Police – information about the loss of a document filed in one bank will go to the nationwide Restricted Documents System, and thus also to all other system participants,

never send a scan of your document online to companies you do not know,

do not fill online forms with personal ID data if it is not necessary – only a bank, a financial institution or an office can ask for such data,

use the BIK Alerts service – the service is not expensive, and thanks to it you will receive an SMS every time when information about submitting a loan application in your name will go to BIK.

If in the near future you do not intend to use a loan or a loan, you can include so-called credit reservation. Then, every institution that approaches BIK in order to verify your creditworthiness when considering a loan application, will know that you do not want credit and withdraw from financing. Such a reservation can be canceled with one click via the Internet, for example in a situation where you will want to take advantage of a quick response.